-02-

"We've got about thirty more minutes," Lourdes said as she pulled over into a gas station. "Are you thirsty?"

"A little," Gloria yawned.

Reaching into the backseat for a plastic bag, Lourdes handed it to her niece. "I brought you some clothes and some sandals, maybe they have a bathroom so you can change. You can get a drink too if you want."

"What's wrong with what I'm wearing?" Gloria asked as she got out of the car and followed her aunt inside.

Lourdes scoffed. "Just because you were in prison, doesn't mean you can't dress like a lady. Don't you want to look nice for your sons?" She walked around the store and gestured to the bathroom in the back corner. "Now stop wasting time, go change," she shooed Gloria away.

Walking into the women's room, Gloria locked herself in the largest stall. Opening the bag, she pulled out a purple dress, and while she didn't entirely hate it, it reminded her of something she'd worn as a little girl. Shaking her head in amusement, she then pulled out a pair of black tights, and black flats. She knew her aunt wouldn't have let her get away with wearing the baggy shirt and jeans they'd given her in processing forever, but she at least thought she'd get home and settled in first, before she was made to change.

Quickly stripping off her clothes and shoes, Gloria hung them over the stall door and then quickly pulled the dress over her head and tied the side strings around her back in a bow. Pulling off her socks one at a time, she slipped her feet into the shoes her aunt had bought for her. Smoothing the material of her dress over her thighs, she folded up her clothes and picked up the shoes she'd been wearing and tucked them back into the bag. Opening the stall door, she was surprised to see Lourdes standing there, waiting for her.

"No, ma'am," her aunt said as she looked her up and down. "Where are the tights that go with it?"

"I don't need them," Gloria said as she sidestepped her aunt to look at herself in the mirror. "It's long enough, see?" She put her hand down at her side, demonstrating that hem of the dress reached her fingertips.

"Ha! Not a chance" Lourdes rolled her eyes. Digging around in her purse she pulled out a brush and passed it to her niece. "Your hair is a mess," she told her. "I think I have a headband in the car you can wear."

"Not all of us can have curls like you," Gloria said, rolling her eyes. She took the tights out of the bag and returned to the stall that she had just walked out of so that she could put them on.

"Your hair wouldn't be the mess that it is if you hadn't always been putting heat on it as a teenager," Lourdes scolded her as she leaned back against the sink, arms crossed over her chest. "I told you that you'd regret it."

"My hair was frizzy, and it never curled right," Gloria said stubbornly. When she reemerged from the stall, she felt her stomach flip with happiness at the instant approval she saw in her aunt's eyes. "Can you braid my hair?" she asked as she ran the brush through her hair a final time.

Lourdes smiled and tied the plastic bag in her hand before setting it on the sink. Stepping behind her niece and separating her hair into sections she said, "I'm glad you finally decided to grow it out."

"You didn't like it when it was short?" Gloria frowned at their reflections in the mirror. "I was thinking about cutting it again."

Lourdes made a sound of disapproval in the back of her throat. "It's your hair," she shrugged. "I've just always liked long hair." She plaited the sections of Gloria's hair into a braid before tying off the end with the ponytail she'd had around her wrist.

Smiling at herself in the mirror, Gloria touched her braid gently. Turning to face her aunt, she asked, "Are you ready?"

"Si. Let's get this show on the road," Lourdes agreed, holding open the bathroom door for her. "I'll call the boys in the car."

"I'm going to get them something too," Gloria said as made her way over to the drinks. "Oh, lime cucumber Gatorade? That actually sounds good." She grabbed the bottle and looked over her shoulder at her aunt. "Do you want one?" she asked as she grabbed a fruit punch one for Julio and a cool blue one for Benny.

"No, Mija," Lourdes waited for her at the checkout and handed the girl on the other side her debit card when she'd finished ringing them up. "Alright," Lourdes said as they stepped out of the store and back into the car. Pulling her phone out of her purse, she called Julio and set the phone on speaker so that Gloria could hear her son's voice.

"Hello?" Julio answered on the second wring.

"You're up," Lourdes said happily. "I thought you and your brother would be asleep all day since you stayed up all night."

"We're barely waking up," Julio admitted.

"Are you hungry?" Lourdes asked looking over at Gloria, at the nod of her head she then asked Julio, "Do you want to meet me at the diner down the street?"

"Sure," Julio said simply. "I haven't showered yet, though."

"Is your brother up?"

"Yea."

"Well, you two get ready and meet me there. I'm still about thirty minutes away."

"Cool," Julio said. "See ya there."

…

The diner they had decided to have brunch at was a rustic, little hole in the wall. The artificial lighting was dimmed but the big windows allowed in enough sun that the place wasn't overwhelmingly dark. On every table set a mini radio from the '70s, and booths were all worn from age.

"You look nervous," Lourdes said as they took a seat across from one another.

"A little," Gloria admitted as she accepted a menu from their server. Turning her head to look out the window she tapped her hand nervously against the table top. Any minute now, she'd see her sons for the first time in weeks, and this time, unlike all their previous visits over the last ten years, and even more recently the last eight months, there would be no glass between them keeping her from reaching out and hugging them as tightly and as long as she wanted. Most importantly, she wouldn't be going back to her cell alone, but instead, she'd be going home with them.

"Gloria," Lourdes said her name gently. She reached across the table and laid her hand atop the one her niece was still knocking nervously against the table. "It's going to be okay," she promised.

"I know," Gloria smiled. "I'm going to go to the bathroom," she said as she gently pulled her hand from beneath her aunt's.

Walking across the restaurant, she breathed a sigh of relief as the door closed behind her. Stepping up to the sink, she looked herself over in the mirror carefully. She smoothed her hair out just along her hairline before touching her braid self-consciously. Pinching the apples of her cheeks to bring a little rosiness to her face, she couldn't help but wish Lourdes had thought to pack her a little makeup. Shaking her head, she smiled at herself. Her boys probably wouldn't even notice. As it was, they'd probably get a kick out of her being in a dress and looking so feminine after seeing her garbed in prison uniforms for so long.

"Okay, you can do this," she told her reflection. "You can. You've all been waiting for this day forever."

Exiting the bathroom, she watched from across the restaurant as her boys made their way to the table. At the mere sight of them alone, she thought her heart would burst from her chest. It took all she had to not break out into a full sprint. With every step she took, the smile on her face just got wider to the point that her cheeks were burning.

"What can I get you, boys, to drink?" Gloria asked playfully as she approached the table. At her words, both of their heads snapped up and they stared at her for a time. She could see the wheels spinning internally as they worked to digest that she was not a figment of their imagination.

"Holly shit!" Julio exclaimed loudly as he jumped up to hug her. "Mom!" He squeezed her as tightly as he could. "Is this a joke?" he asked against her ear.

Happy tears drained from her eyes. "No, baby," she whispered, returning his hug. He was much taller than she was and much more built than she remembered. She rubbed her hand up and down the length of his back, the scent of his body-wash once more reminding him that he was no longer her little tiny.

"What are you doing here?" he asked in shock as he broke their hug. "I thought you weren't coming home for a few more weeks?"

"You didn't really think I'd miss your graduation, did you?" Moving her hands down the length of his arms she took his large hands in hers and squeezed them tightly. "God, Honey, you're so big!"

"Yea, Mama," Julio laughed as he pulled her in for another hug. "That's what usually happens."

"Hey!" Benny exclaimed, shoulder checking his brother out of the way. "What about me?"

"Oh, baby," Gloria told him as she embraced him tightly. "I could never forget you." She sighed softly as she felt him squeeze his arms around her waist. He still had a way to go before he was as tall as his brother, but Gloria knew he'd get there in no time. Their father had been giant compared to her.

"You didn't escape, did you?" Benny joked quietly against her ear.

"No," she chuckled. "I didn't escape." Pulling back, she cupped his face in her hands. "You're the one who is still causing trouble. How are you still managing to do that with this boot and crutches?" she asked.

"Just trying to keep everyone on their toes," he said as he took his seat in the booth across from his brother and aunt. He was not at all disappointed when his mother sat down next to him. "You can share my menu," he told her sweetly.

Gloria smiled and wrapped her arm over his shoulder, drawing him close to her side. "Breakfast or lunch?" she asked.

"Breakfast. Always. You know that, Mom."

"Yea," she nodded, as she lovingly stroked her fingers through his hair. "I know that, baby."

The server came to take their drink order and when she returned a few minutes later with four glasses of orange juice, she took their food order.

Looking across the table at Julio, her hand still stoking through Benny's hair, she asked, "Are you ready for graduation?"

"Yea," Julio smiled. "I'll show you my cap and gown when I get home. I just picked it up yesterday."

"I can't wait," Gloria grinned. "Have you thought about what you're going to do after? I know you said you were thinking about taking classes at the community college. Any idea what you want to study?"

Stroking awkwardly at the back of his neck, Julio shrugged. "Haven't figured it out yet," he confessed quietly.

Lourdes nudged him with her shoulder, and he mumbled something quietly under his breath. Watching the exchange carefully, Gloria raised her brow. The movements she'd been making with her fingers through Benny's hair came to a halt and she stared at Julio questioningly.

"Well," she began quietly. "I'm 43 and still haven't figured it out. You have plenty of time."

Julio nodded his head, smiling at her. Clearing his throat, he said, "My sisters are going to come. They called and told me last week."

"Good," Gloria nodded her head. The exchanged between Lourdes and Julio was long forgotten and instead was replaced with an uncomfortably twisting in her abdomen. She resumed the gentle caressing she'd been making through Benny's hair.

"Are you going to be okay with that?" Julio asked her quietly.

"They're my daughters," Gloria reminded him, the corner of her lips twitching upward in a smile. "Why wouldn't I be okay with it?" Benny's hand reached for hers beneath the table and he squeezed it reassuringly.

"Have you talked to them?" Julio asked her before taking a long gulp of his orange juice. "I just don't want it to be awkward or for guys to fight." He rubbed his hands together nervously atop the table. It was no secret that there had been much animosity between his older sisters and his mother. Being as they were 15 and 13 at the time of her arrest, they had understood a lot more of what was going on than he or his brother had.

Licking her lips, Gloria turned her head to look out the window just as their server returned with their food. She set two plates down in front of Julio and Lourdes, an omelet and hash browns downs on each, and then placed down two orders of French toast and hash browns in front of Gloria and Benny, before promising to bring them all a refill of juice.

When the young woman had stepped away from their table, Gloria returned her attention to her son. "I've spoken to them a few times, but not very much," she told him honestly. "We haven't fought any time that I've called, but I haven't seen them since the fight their dad and I had gotten into about eight years ago."

"Yea, that was awkward," Benny agreed unhelpfully.

Gloria sighed. "The issue was never between me and the girls. The issue was always their dad and how controlling he wanted to be about bringing them up for a visit." Her eyes flicked up to her aunt and cautiously she added, "They should have never been allowed to stay with him."

"No, they shouldn't have," Lourdes agreed as she unfolded the napkin around her silverware. "But as you know, parental rights trump those of any other, and even if I had been able to get custody, how was I supposed to support four kids on one income? They had their grandmother, and you know Eva as well as I do, that she did the best she could, but even Chris kept her at arm's length." She sighed at the look of sadness that passed in Gloria's eyes. "We all know what a pendejo he is, but it is what is. Let's just enjoy our meal, okay? We have a full day of errands ahead of us."

Not bothering to wait for a response, Lourdes held out her hands out expectantly. The conversation came to a halt and Benny sat up straight, both he and his brother obediently taking both their mother's and aunt's hand in theirs. Bowing their head, they listened attentively as Lourdes led them in saying grace.

"Amen," they all echoed her.

Drowning her French toast in maple syrup, Gloria cut into them eagerly. Bringing the first bite to her mouth, she moaned loudly. It was like tasting heaven.

"Is it good, mom?" Benny asked with a laugh.

"Mm-hmm," she nodded, shoveling another large bite into her mouth. Waving her fork, she playfully pointed it at Julio playfully. "So," she licked her lips. "Tell me about this girlfriend of yours. Are you two using protection?"

"Mama!"

"Florecita!"

"Don't look at me like that. You're an adult now, we can have these conversations." Gloria shook her head in amusement as she stabbed her fork into her hash browns.

"Nobody wants to have this conversation at breakfast," Lourdes scolded her, taking a large drink of her juice.

"I was your age when I got pregnant with Reina," Gloria told him. "And not much older when I got pregnant with Selena. I'm just saying that you need to be careful."

"You're awful," Lourdes shook her head. "I thought you were supposed to be rehabilitated? If I didn't know better, I would think your mouth is worse than when you went in there." She looked over at Benny and motioned with her knife between the two of them. "If you ever wondered why you get into so much trouble, Mijo, it's because you take after your mother. I think we probably should have left you in there a few more days, Gloria."

"Nah. I'm glad she's back. It's going to be nice having a partner in crime," Benny smirked, lightly bumping his shoulder against his moms. "I think we should go swimming when we get back to the apartment."

"Mm," Gloria winked at him. "I like the way you think, baby."